Hurnwick Airport disaster
The Hurnwick Airport disaster was an aviation accident which occurred during the afternoon of 22 October 2014 at Hurnwick Airport in Leedstown, Leeds, Newleaf Island. A Bombardier CRJ100 converted business jet collided with two ground vehicles on the runway while landing, killing seventeen people. Aircraft Accident details Homingtons Airtours Flight 118 Half an hour prior to the crash, Homingtons Airtours Flight 118, flown by a Boeing 737-400 registered as N-OUSD, declared an emergency shortly after take-off from Newquay Airport in Cornwall, United Kingdom. Flight 118 is a scheduled passenger flight from Newquay to Home. Around six minutes into the flight, the No. 1 engine suffered what were later described as 'uncontrolled fluctuations in power output'. As a result, the plane began squawking 7700. The terrain around Newquay prevented a safe return, so the aircraft flew on to Newleaf Island and arranged an emergency landing at Hurnwick. The plane touched down at 15:22 local time, on the same runway as that of the crash, and taxiied to a secure area. There were no injuries, and several fast-response vehicles were already at the scene as the plane arrived. When smoke was spotted pouring from one of the engines, back-up fire engines were called shortly after 15:25. They were dispatched less than a minute later. The crash A Bombardier CRJ100 small passenger jet registered N-LOLA, which had been converted into a business jet, was cleared to land immediately after the Homingtons flight had taxiied to a secure location, and entered the final approach in routine fashion. The plane touched down at 15:27 at slightly above the normal expected landing speed, due to an error in the calculation of the wind conditions at the time, but still at a speed within safety limits. The plane continued down the long runway at speed, slowing down slower than usual as it had touched down slightly early and needed to get to the very last taxiway off the runway. Around fifteen seconds after touchdown, while still going 113mph, the nose gear of the aircraft struck a fire engine responding to the Homingtons incident directly in the side. The fire engine was rushing to the scene and had not been given permission to cross the runway when it was hit. The impact caused the fire engine to flip up into the air, coming to a rest in a field by the side of the runway, where it burst into flames. The impact also caused the nose landing gear of the plane to be ripped apart. What remained of it after the collision collapsed violently, sending the plane skidding down the runway on it's nose. Debris from the landing gear struck the left wing and tailplane, severing all hydraulic controls, leading to the loss of all flight surfaces in these areas as well as the left engine. This severely hindered the plane's ability to slow down from an already slightly excessive speed. At the next taxiway crossing, a pickup truck that was heading to the scene of the Homingtons incident was also struck in the side by the plane. Like the fire engine, it had not been given permission to cross the runway. The impact caused the pickup to jam underneath the plane, being dragged along for several hunded metres, before coming loose and being thrown into a field along the side of the runway. The loss of all surfaces on the left wing and tailplane meant that the plane could not brake normally. Even with other brakes set to their maximum setting, the plane was still going 87mph when it overshot the runway onto the grass beyond. The plane bounced violently across the field, crossing a service road and crashing through the perimeter fence. The aircraft then passed through a small area of young trees and was broken in to several pieces, which came to rest shortly past the perimeter fence on a public single-carriageway road outside the airport. Immediately after coming to a halt, the plane burst into flames. Fatalities All twelve people on board the plane were killed in the crash. Paramedics at the scene said that the pilot and copilot were probably killed by the collisions, while passengers further back in the plane would have been knocked unconscious as the plane bounced across the field and would have been killed by the fire. All four people inside the fire engine were killed on impact, as was the single occupant of the pickup truck. Around a dozen people suffered non-fatal injuries in total, most of them plane enthusiasts at a spotting place close to where the plane crashed through the perimeter fence. The majority of these were injured by tree branches which fell on them as the plane cut through the young coppice. A car crash on the single carriageway public road where the plane came to a rest injured several people, as the car veered off the road and into a ditch to avoid the oncoming plane.